1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to transistors having the emitter region partially metallized such that the transistor has a preselected effective emitter resistance and safe operating area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The emitter metallization of prior art transistors was substantially coextensive with the area of the emitter region. The effective emitter resistance of the prior art transistors was primarily determined by the area of the emitter region and the contact resistance between the emitter region and the emitter metallization. Partial emitter metallizations also were used in prior art transistors to improve frequency response. However, in all of these prior art transistors, the area of the emitter metallization and the effective emitter resistance was not selected to prevent emitter current "collapse" and the resulting "hot areas".